Official Guide to Art Week Great Falls, Montana March 15th-19th, 2023
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38 • portfolio missouri falls art show & sale he Fifth Annual Missouri Falls Fine Arts Show displays works of artists who belong to the Arts Association of Montana (AAM). Jean Mazur, vice president of the Arts Association, says, "The benefits of being a part of the Arts Association is the comaraderie and the sharing of ideas. We have either hands-on mini-sessions during out meetings or we ask artists to come in and talk about their careers." Their venue is the Ozark Room at the History Museum, where the artists enjoy plenty of space amongst the museum's regular exhibits. This year, fourteen artists of the association will be exhibiting as well as two feature artists: Janet Christina is 83 and has been a long-time member of the association. "This is the first time her work is being highlighted. She's lived in Montana all her life and hiked everywhere, especially the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Her art represents her different travels, hiking excursions, and wildlife. She uses a variety of media," says Mazur. Expect to see her work featuring feathers, dried flowers, paper, paint, charcoal, and rubber stamps. Sarah Justice is a newcomer to the great state of Montana but is quickly making a name for herself. The Director of Education at the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, Justice focuses on clay as her medium. She looks to heroines of Greek mythology and folklore to inspire her creations. Her works are meant to stir emotion and communicate stories that transcend time. Another main event of the show is the awarding of the Val Knight Scholarship. "Val Knight was pretty much a self-taught artist. She was passionate about her art and sharing it with youth of the community. When she passed, she gave an initial amount specifically to senior high school students to encourage them to pursue their art after high school." AAM highlights three schools: Great Falls High, CM Russell, and the Paris Gibson Educational Center. Teachers choose students to present their work who are considering a career or college degree in the arts. Then two members from AAM go to each school to choose one student-artist from each school. The three finalists are invited to attend the opening reception on Thursday night when the winners are announced. Funding of the Val Knight Scholarship comes from the annual raffle held during the art show. Every artist donates an original painting or piece of artwork. Then Mazur explains, "We sell 150 tickets at $5 each to give the public an opportunity to own something new and original. The raffle money funds the following year's scholarship." In addition to the featured artists, expect to see traditional water colors, oils, acrylics, landscape artists, bronze sculpture, calligraphy, abstract art, glass, Missouri Falls Fine Arts Show Featuring Local Fine Artists By Heather Bode T